


Reading is Fundamental

by Maredwill



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Crying, Exploring Sexuality, Fluff, Humor, I wrote this for shits and giggles mostly, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Masturbation, M/M, Oblivious Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Pre-Relationship, Sexuality, because sora loves love, kind of, romance novels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-17 06:16:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29588496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maredwill/pseuds/Maredwill
Summary: He opened the book again to the same page and felt his face flush as the scene continued, only growing more graphic. He squeaked and shut the book again, making sure to close it completely this time so he wasn't tempted to read any further. That was definitely a sex scene, a gay sex scene, in Riku's book that Sora had seen him read a million times.Sora borrows what he thinks is a regular fantasy novel from Riku, only to find more than he might be able to handle, not that it'll stop him from reading it anyway. And maybe he learns a little about himself along the way.
Relationships: Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 85





	Reading is Fundamental

**Author's Note:**

> Look I just find the idea of Riku reading smutty romance novels around other people without batting an eyelash hilarious and it is what inspired this fic.

Sora pushed open the heavy doors of the tower library, the warm glow of the floating lamps and shadows cast by the rows and rows of massive bookshelves greeting him. He walked inside, glancing down each row he passed by. 

"Riku?" He called out, voice echoing in the massive space. One of the brooms had told him Riku was here, but now he was wondering if maybe he missed him. 

Sora climbed the stairs to the next landing, making his way to Riku's preferred reading spot. When he reached the familiar giant fluffy chairs and low table tucked into a corner he still didn't find Riku but he did find his stuff. Books and notes that were definitely in his handwriting were in piles across the table, and his jacket was left on one of the chairs. Sora sat on the edge of the desk and picked through the notes, figuring his best bet was to wait until Riku came back. 

The notes didn't make much sense to him without context so he abandoned them, looking through the pile of books instead. He ran his fingers alone the spines and paused when a familiar dark blue cover and engraved silver dragon head caught his eye. He pulled the book from the stack and admired the cover. There were two swords crossed over each other in front of a large rose, with the title along the bottom in curling script. _Thorn in the Blood._

He traced his fingers along the silver writing, feeling the grooves in the cover while he was lost in thought. He had seen Riku reading this before, a few times actually. All he knew about it was it was some fantasy book he really liked. It must be a really good one if he was reading it _again._ Sora wanted to know what all the hype was about so he flipped the book open to a random page and started reading. 

_Prince Ryn pressed himself against Draec as they kissed, cursing the chain mail that prevented the skin on skin contact he craved so deeply. Draec had no such restrictions and his hands wandered down from the prince's waist to untie his trousers, reaching a hand down them to cup his-_

Sora gasped and shut the book, his thumb trapped between the page he was on. What the hell was that? Actually, he knew what it was, so the more apt question was why was Riku _reading_ that? He opened the book again to the same page and felt his face flush as the scene continued, only growing more graphic. He squeaked and shut the book again, making sure to close it completely this time so he wasn’t tempted to read any further. That was definitely a sex scene, a gay sex scene, in Riku's book that Sora had seen him read a million times. 

He took a deep breath and flipped the book over to the back, reading the synopsis. The summary was focused heavily on the plot, talk of kingdoms and dragons and royal responsibility, though it did imply a romance between the prince and the knight. Maybe it was a normal fantasy book and Sora just had the worst luck and happened to open it on the one sex scene. 

He heard footsteps coming up the steps and floundered, flailing around trying to figure out what to do with the book before he decided to just slip it into his pocket, the book shrinking from view just as someone turned the corner. 

"Riku!" He said as he stood up, voice coming out embarrassingly squeaky. 

"Hey Sora," Riku answered, raised eyebrow a sign he knew Sora was acting weird. "Is something wrong?" 

"No! Everything is great, perfect. I'm fine." He begged himself to shut up and stop rambling. 

Riku wasn't buying it, hand on his hip and eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Really? Everything is fine?" 

"Yeah!" He put on his biggest grin, hoping it came off more nonchalant and less 'I have your gay fantasy novel burning a hole in my pocket.' "I was waiting for you." 

"For?" Riku asked, still slightly suspicious but coming over to the table and putting his things away. 

Sora desperately wracked his brain, trying to remember what he had come here for. Instead of anything useful, an image of the prince and the knight making out against the castle wall popped into his head and he squeaked again, making Riku look over at him. 

"Struggle!" He blurted out, the thought finally coming to him. "There's a big struggle tournament happening today and Pence and the gang invited us. Do you want to come? We'll have to leave soon."

Riku was still giving him a strange look but he shrugged and went back to gathering his notes, folding them up and sticking them in his jacket pocket before putting it on. 

"Sure, give me a few minutes and I'll be ready to go. I'll meet you outside." He started walking back toward the stairs, leaving the taunting pile of books behind.

"You don't need those?" Sora called out, wanting to smack himself for his lack of brain to mouth filter.

Riku didn't look back and waved a hand dismissively. "It's fine, the brooms will put them back." 

Sora looked at Riku's retreating back and then at the table. He could leave the book right now, slip it from his pocket and put it back before anyone could see him, it would be easy. 

He turned around and followed Riku out the library. 

++++

Sora didn't touch the book again for two days but he couldn't stop thinking about it. He left it in his pocket even though he had an irrational fear of it falling out and everyone knowing what was inside because the alternative was he leave it in his room and the idea that someone could easily discover it there was even more nerve wracking. So in his pocket it sat, calling his attention to it at any given opportunity. 

Surely the book couldn't be that bad? He had seen Riku reading it out in the open, against a tree in the courtyard, in the library, at a picnic surrounded by almost all of their friends. If the book was filled with that many scenes like the one Sora had seen earlier then wouldn't he want to read it in private?

Sora screamed into his pillow in frustration. He didn't know why this was bothering him so much anyway. He had basically stolen the book, so really what he should do is leave it in the library so it could magically end up where it was supposed to go. Instead, he sat up and summoned his keyblade, pointing it at his bedroom door and locking it. Then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the novel, the book immediately expanding back to its regular size. Even though he hadn't opened it ayet he had pulled it out to look at it before, turning it over in his hands and looking for some sort of clue as to the contents inside but there wasn't anything besides the summary. Would it really hurt if he read it a little? Riku clearly liked this book, and the story did sound interesting. He was just...curious. He'd read a few pages and then go leave it in the library. 

He glanced up at his door again and even though he knew it was locked he still scooted back against the wall, pulling his knees up and resting the book against them so the cover wasn't visible if someone walked in. He didn't want Riku to find him reading it and have to explain why he had it in the first place. 

Sora picked at the edge of the cover and inhaled, finally opening it. He didn't know what he was expecting but the inside was also normal, the first page a black and white copy of the cover, and the next page was a table of contents. He flipped the page again and reached the first chapter. 

Before he knew it he was on his back on the bed, completely absorbed in the novel. From the first page he was captivated by the characters and the set up, learning about the rules of the kingdom and the magic involved, and even though the prince, Ryn, clearly had a massive crush on Draec, the knight, nothing untoward had happened yet. Possibly because they weren't dating, just pining after each other to an infuriating degree. 

Sora felt bad for prince Ryn. He and Draec were best friends in childhood and then Draec abandoned his duties as a duke and ran away in the middle of the night to follow his dreams of becoming a knight. He was stationed in another part of the kingdom and the prince didn't hear from him for three years after, until the beginning of the book when problems at the kingdom required more protection for Ryn and Draec was among the knights newly stationed there. Ryn was trying to rekindle their friendship and act like things were normal, but he was still clearly hurt by his friend abandoning him for all of those years, especially because he spent years of his childhood in love with Draec and still was. 

Eventually, his eyes started burning from being tired and he couldn't keep his focus even though he wanted to, so he marked his place and closed the book, making sure to put it safely back in his pocket. He felt oddly relieved that besides some very inappropriate thoughts the prince often had about Draec that made Sora flush every time they came up, the book seemed like an average fantasy novel. 

++++

The next night he was proven very wrong. Things had been progressing like normal, the story developing along with Ryn's emotional and physical pining, but nothing had come of it because he and Draec were barely managing to stay friends, nevermind anything more. Apparently, that didn't prevent Ryn from _dreaming_ about more, which is how Sora went from reading about a memory of Ryn pinning Draec during a sparring match to them kissing and grinding against each other on the floor. 

_Draec flipped their positions and pinned Ryn to the ground, moving his thigh into the perfect position to make Ryn gasp as he rubbed against it._

Sora looked up at his bedroom door again. He knew it was locked, he always made sure to lock it when he was reading, but he still felt too exposed, like someone would waltz in at any moment and ask him what he was doing. And it would be obvious wouldn't it? With how flushed he was and how...interested certain parts of him were in what he was reading. His eyes kept drifting from the text to the door and he finally gave up, pulling the blankets over his head and using his phone to illuminate the pages. He felt safer here, truly alone in his blanket cocoon with no one able to witness how much the book was affecting him, and affecting him it was, if the amount of times he shifted and adjusted himself while reading was anything to go by. 

Not for the first time, his thoughts strayed to Riku. Sora could picture him clearly, sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast and reading as if the main character wasn't currently having a wet dream about his friend, face neutral and cool as a cucumber while Sora was an over heated mess. 

He tried to keep his focus on the book, where Ryn had woken up and was completing the rest of his fantasy with his hand and imagination, and want pooled low in his stomach. He regretted hiding under the covers now, the stuffy space making sweat prickle along his neck and amplifying his rapid breathing. He pulled them off and adjusted the book so he could hold it with one hand, his other drifting lower, lost in the image of Ryn and Draec yanking each other's clothes off until he was shuddering apart with the characters. 

When he was finished he decided that was enough reading for tonight and put the book away, getting himself cleaned up and ready for bed. When he was back under the covers and staring at the ceiling, the thought from earlier came to him again. He once again wondered how Riku could read a book like this around other people without a care, and he realized the answer was obvious. He didn't care because those scenes didn't affect him at all. What other explanation was there? The novel was more than good enough to read based on the story alone, and that must have been all Riku cared about. And even if the sex scenes got to Sora more than he was expecting that was all he really cared about too, wasn't it? He hadn't even intended on reading the whole book, just the first few pages, but he was so captivated he couldn't put it down. The sex scenes were just one little part of the novel, not the reason he was reading it. Right.

Sora thought back to how he ended up with the book in the first place. The first part he ever read was graphic, and he easily could have ended it there and put the book back where he found it, never to be thought of again. But he didn't do that. Instead, he took the book with him and started it from the beginning. His flush from earlier returned, this time fueled by shame.

Sora's embarrassment was two fold when the next morning he agreed to a sparring match with Riku without thinking, only to end up with Riku above him and turning what he was sure was a miraculous shade of red as he remembered the scene he read last night, scrambling away in a flash and declaring Riku the winner, ignoring his calls as he fled the room. 

++++ 

Regardless of how guilty he felt about what he was doing, he couldn't stop reading. There were dragons and magic and politics, and Ryn was struggling with so much between his duties to his family and kingdom, and what he really wanted for himself. Also, he and Draec were slowly fixing their relationship and Sora desperately needed them to kiss already. 

He couldn't remember the last time he was this absorbed in a book and read it this quickly. Usually, he had trouble finding the time to focus, but now he found himself eager every day to get back to his room and find out what was going to happen next. 

Reading also came with some downfalls. Specifically, that it made him think about Riku constantly. Any time he thought about the book or was reading it he thought about who he had "borrowed" it from. Any time he looked at Riku he thought about the book he was hiding. Like this morning, when Riku was stretching to reach a high shelf and he was reminded of Ryn admiring the curve of Draec's bicep and how much he had filled out since they'd last seen each other. Sora took a second to think keyblade wielding treated Riku as well as knighthood treated Draec before promptly dropping the mug he was holding all over the floor. He left the picking up the glass to the brooms and used the excuse of not wanting to break anything else to leave right away. 

Riku hadn't mentioned his missing book but Sora didn't know if it was because he hadn't noticed or he just wasn't going to bring attention to it, but Sora badly wanted to discuss it with him. He wanted his opinion on the lore and the dragons and Draec's awful, backstabbing uncle, but there was no way for him to broach the topic. How was he supposed to explain why he had taken it in the first place and didn't bother letting Riku know? And how the hell was he supposed to look Riku in the eye and talk about the _plot_ when they both knew what else the book contained. Just because Riku could feel nothing during those moments didn't mean Sora did, and he didn't know how to pretend otherwise. 

++++

This night, instead of being an embarrassing level of turned on he was crying, arms wrapped around his pillow while he read about Ryn breaking down and finally telling Draec how it felt when he left. They had danced around the subject before but this was the first time Ryn admitted how much Draec leaving had hurt him. They were consoling each other now by the fire at their campsite, Draec holding Ryn while he poured his heart out, or most of it anyway. He still hadn't admitted the extent of his feelings but that didn't make the moment any less emotional. 

If he was totally honest with himself, it sort of reminded Sora of him and Riku. The situations were very different, but he understood the pain of being separated and hurt by your closest friend. He sniffed and wiped his eyes while Draec admitted leaving Ryn was the most difficult part, and then Sora broke into a grin when they finally kissed and he had to bury his face in his pillow, feeling like he was going to squeal. He was thankful his door was locked as more tears came. He was so happy for them, and he could tell that everything in the plot was going to start coming to a head and he was glad they could share this moment before everything started going really wrong.

Sora wiped his eyes again and closed the book, needing a break after that scene. He couldn't help but wonder if Riku also cried when he read that part. Sora couldn't picture him crying at all, but he also couldn't picture anyone making it through that scene unscathed. 

He once again wished he could ask, talk to Riku about it, but he knew he couldn't. Sora had lost that chance when he decided to keep the book instead of giving it back because now he was in too deep. What he did _was_ weird, wasn't it? Even if he hadn't seen what he'd seen in the library and had read the book from the beginning originally, the normal thing to do when he realized what kind of book it was would be to give it back, wouldn't it? Or at least ask if he could borrow it?

Sora couldn't shake the feeling that he was reading something private, that he was invading somehow. But then he thought how Riku went to no lengths to hide the book at all, and Sora would only read it behind a locked door under a sheet and he felt even weirder. He was the one acting strange, the one with something to hide. He had thought about telling Riku the truth now but what if Riku asked why he waited so long to tell him? How the hell was he supposed to answer that? 

There was no other option. Once he was done reading he'd put the book back and pretend like none of this ever happened. 

++++

Soon he realized that would be easier said than done. With Ryn and Draec sort of together (sort of because even though they were kissing and more very regularly they still hadn't talked about anything and Sora was seconds from to reaching through the book to strangle them) the sex scenes had increased exponentially, along with the plot. Sora spent his nights swinging from terrified for their lives to unbearably turned on and back again. 

Which meant Sora spent his days barely able to look Riku in the eye. Every time he saw Riku or thought of him he thought of that stupid book and his stomach twisting with want. The scenes from the night before would flash through his head and he'd again wonder how Riku felt reading those same scenes. Did he really feel nothing?

He didn't even know what he wanted the answer to be. Either Riku wasn't affected at all and Sora was being a perv, or Riku did like those scenes and Sora had to live with the knowledge that when he was reading and felt the prickle of arousal moving over his body Riku maybe felt the same. Maybe even pictured himself as one of the characters the way Sora did, or read one sentence over and over because it so perfectly captured the love and desperation between them, or had to take a break and hide his face in the book to just breathe because the pure desire pouring off the page was too much and Sora felt like he'd combust if he kept reading. 

Riku was associated with the book and the book with arousal and now Sora was starting to associate Riku with arousal and that wasn't... he couldn't do that. Shouldn't do that. 

And still he couldn't stop reading. Because he needed to know what would happen, because he needed Ryn to admit to Draec how he felt, because every time he looked at the remaining pages and thought about how much he'd enjoy what they held he couldn't resist. Because the sooner he got to the end the sooner he was hoping he could stop thinking about Riku's arms and Riku's hair and the way his back flexed in his jacket and about what turned Riku on, what he liked. What he thought about when he...

Yeah. Sora needed this to end. 

++++

_"You need to save him! He cannot die! I will not lose him! Please!"_

Sora whimpered and didn't even register the tear drops staining the page. How was Draec dead? He couldn't be dead! Not like this not when they were so close to winning, not when Ryn still hadn't told him how he felt. 

_"I can't help him."_

_"Stop lying! I know what your powers are!" Ryn screamed, broken voice echoing in the large cavern. "I command it!"_

_"My powers do not work in this form," the deep gravely voice of the dragon responded. "There's nothing I can do."_

Sora bit his finger to hold back a sob as Ryn fell to his knees, pounding the cave floor, screaming in anguish. His fingers trembled as he turned the page. He read on in horror as Ryn swapped places with the dragon, damning himself to the cave for all eternity in order for Draec to be saved. 

_"Ryn, why," Draec cried. He looked so small like this, Ryn thought. He wished he could have one more minute as a human so he could feel those arms surround him one last time instead of the two tiny pinpricks of sensation where Draec was clinging to his head._

_"You know why." Draec deserved more than that but Ryn refused to let the first time he uttered those words be in this form; as a monster._

Sora's sob finally broke through as Draec kissed Ryn and swore he'd find a way to save him. Then, his chest clenched in horror when he turned the page and found it blank.

"No," he muttered, flipping frantically only to find the acknowledgements and more blank pages. "No!" 

That was it? That was how it ended? Sora threw the book across the room and buried his face in his knees, shoulders shaking with his cries. 

This wasn't _fair_. He thought this was going to be a love story, he thought Ryn and Draec would save the kingdom and admit their feelings, but instead Ryn essentially gave his life for Draec and now they were further apart than ever. He felt so cheated. 

He was angry he realized, and he wished he never picked up the stupid book in the first place because now he was heartbroken and why the hell did Riku like this shitty book so much anyway? 

He was so overwhelmed with emotion, and before he knew what he was doing he got up and grabbed the book off the floor, storming out of his room to the door across the hall, not bothering to knock as he threw it open. 

"What the hell is this!" Sora yelled, chucking the book on the ground between him and Riku who was sitting in his desk chair, eyes wide with shock. 

"What?"

"How the hell can it end like that?" Sora had just enough sense to slam the door shut behind him. "How can that be it?" His voice broke on the last word and inhaled shakily, barely able to see Riku's baffled expression between the film of tears. 

"Sora what are you-" 

"They were in love!" Sora yelled, all his frustration with the ending pouring out of him at once. "They were meant to be they waited so long to be together why did it end like THIS?" He covered his eyes with his arm as he sobbed again. He knew he was overreacting and it was just a book but he felt so betrayed, like the story had promised him one thing and then ripped it away. 

"Sora," Riku said, voice low like he was speaking to a frightened animal, "that isn't the end." 

Sora dropped his arm back to his side, vision clear now. "What?" 

"Um." Riku's face was red and he was gripping the arms of his chair tightly, eyes darting between the book on the ground and Sora. He coughed. "It's a...it's a series. There's another book." 

"Another book?" Sora felt his heart pick up and he leaned forward eagerly. "Do you have it? You need to give it to me!" 

"Why do you even have that one?" Riku asked, voice strained and nasally, body still taught. 

Sora stepped back, stomach sinking when he realized what he had just done. Shit. _Shit._ In his anger he had completely forgotten that Riku wasn't supposed to know.

"Um." He swallowed around the feeling of cotton in his throat. "I uh...borrowed it?" 

"You borrowed it," Riku repeated slowly, the caught prey look not leaving his eyes. "Why? _When?_ " 

"It wasn't my fault! I've seen you reading it so many times I picked it up out of curiosity. I didn't know what kind of book it was!" He defended, cheeks reddening with the lie. 

Riku had looked away at that, the blush on his face creeping down his neck. 

Sora's insides were twisting with nerves and he couldn’t stop himself from rambling. "How the hell do you even do that anyway? I've seen you reading this during breakfast like it's nothing and I could barely get through a chapter without-" He snapped his mouth shut and looked down, feeling his own face heat up. This was humiliating. 

He waited for Riku to laugh, or tell him to stop being gross, but neither of those happened. 

"I've read it a lot," was what Riku said instead, shifting in his chair. "I guess it lost its effect?”

Sora peaked up to see if he was being made fun of, but Riku was still glancing off to the side and looked as uncomfortable as he felt. Did that mean the book did have an effect on Riku at one time? Did Riku- 

He shut those thoughts down, head lowering again to hide his blush. He needed to stop being so weird, Riku was right there. 

"I see," Sora said for lack of anything else, hoping his voice didn't betray his turmoil. 

Neither of them said anything, suspended in a state of awkwardness fueled paralysis. Riku broke first, and Sora heard shuffling and footsteps and soon a new book was in his line of vision, this one with a bright red cover. 

"Here," Riku said softly. "Since you enjoyed the first one so much."

Sora wasn't sure if he imagined the emphasis Riku added to enjoy, but he took the book anyway. "I did," he said, eyes still facing the floor. "Enjoy it I mean." 

"It's okay if you did." 

Sora glanced up at that in disbelief, but Riku's expression was soft and sincere. 

"R-really?" He stammered, because it was obvious they weren't talking about the story. 

Riku nodded and his lips pulled into a small smile. "Yeah. It's okay." 

Sora looked back down and felt a knot of anxiety ease in his chest, running his thumb over the gold symbols on the book. 

"Does it end okay?" He asked, not wanting to go through what happened with the first one again. 

Riku let out a small huff. "Yeah. The ending of this one is a lot less sad, but there's a third one after this." 

"A third one?" Sora whined, already feeling overwhelmed. "I have to go through this _three_ times?" 

Riku laughed for real this time and it made Sora's stomach swoop. 

"I'm sure you'll make it, and I promise it has a happy ending." 

"It better," Sora mumbled, looking back down again. He shifted back and forth on his feet. "Um, well, thanks." 

"Sure. Let me know what you think."

Sora nodded and turned to leave, pausing when he reached the door. He gripped the book between his hands and thought about how much he had wanted to say when reading the other one, how he had wanted nothing more than to rant about what was happening with someone who understood. 

He turned around and strode back over to Riku who was sitting in his chair again, holding the book in his lap and staring at it with bewilderment, looking up when Sora plopped onto the bed across from him. 

"I can't believe Draec let his uncle live after what he did!" 

There was a second's hesitation and then Riku smiled, throwing the book onto his desk and scooting his chair closer to Sora. 

"I know, I've never wanted a character dead so bad. I was sure Ryn was going to kill him anyway. 

Sora grinned and shook his head. "Ryn wouldn't go against Draec's wishes like that." 

They kept talking long through the night, Sora asking questions about the lore and Riku explaining things he missed or assuring him it would be explored further in the other books. Warmth spread inside him as he thought about how he was grateful for his outburst, happy he didn't have to hide any more. 

**Author's Note:**

> Love it? Hate it? Let me know either way lol. 
> 
> Scream about Soriku on twitter with me [here](https://twitter.com/maredwill15)


End file.
